


What Do Stars Do Best?

by 94BottlesOfSnapple



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stardust Fusion, Easily Embarrassed Dio, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Magic, Mild Angst, fastburn on par with the Stardust movie tbh, star!Dio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/94BottlesOfSnapple/pseuds/94BottlesOfSnapple
Summary: "Once upon a time not so very long ago in the kingdom of Stormhold, there lived an automaton – a being created from a marriage between magic and machinery. Her name was Luna, and she loved to watch the sky."When a star falls in Stormhold, Luna is sent to retrieve it by the alchemist who created her. This turns out to be a more difficult task than she expects, because the more she gets to know him the less she wants to fulfill her orders.Written as a Zecret Santa (2019) gift, using the prompt:Dio/Luna fluff
Relationships: Dio/Luna (Zero Escape)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: ZEcret Santa 2019





	What Do Stars Do Best?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiichu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiichu/gifts).



> You gave me a lot of leeway on this one and it’s definitely out there, but I couldn’t think of an AU that sounded more fun for these two than Stardust; hope it’s fluffy enough for you! Merry Christmas!

Once upon a time not so very long ago in the kingdom of Stormhold, there lived an automaton – a being created from a marriage between magic and machinery. Her name was Luna, and she loved to watch the sky. On the whole, she spent her existence quietly – assisting the alchemist who had created her in his research, tending to the garden set out back of his manor, and reading novels from the library’s collection out in the sunroom, curled up in an armchair like a cat. There were slight variations, but every day followed nearly the same pattern. A quiet, undisturbed life without change or momentum.

Until the night the star fell from the sky.

Shooting stars were rare in Stormhold, but they invariably set off the worst sort of trouble because every witch in the kingdom scrambled to get hands on them. On their hearts, which were filled with enough magic to extend one’s life hundreds and hundreds of years when eaten. The practice was barbaric, but effective.

Though she’d often daydreamed about rescuing a star after reading tales of heroics, Luna thought little of the star when she caught sight of it except to wonder sadly at its fate. She herself was a potential target for witches, who stripped the world of magic like vultures for their own use, and the alchemist had never let her leave the manor grounds unaccompanied. More than that, the alchemist had no interest in stars. All his focus was trained inwards, on the makeup of the human soul. On recreating his lost love.

She herself had been an attempt at that goal, though the alchemist had never told her so specifically. But Luna’s biggest flaw was her curiosity, and she’d braved the locked, dusty rooms in the east wing of the manor once – only to find a faded painting of her own likeness. The connection wasn’t difficult to make.

Thinking of these things, she followed the falling star – a streak of silver fire flashing across the night – with her eyes until it disappeared beyond her sight line. Even after it was gone, Luna couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from the night sky, the blue-black fabric of it, the other stars beginning to come out and shine.

Though he was hard at work and clearly absorbed, the alchemist had noticed her absence by the time she finally drifted back to his lab.

“Where were you, Luna?” he asked curiously, eye to a microscope. “I wanted your help with this five minutes ago.”

“I-I’m sorry. I was out in the garden. A-a star fell and I got distracted,” she explained, fidgeting with the fabric of her ankle-length skirt.

Luna didn’t expect more than a grunt of acknowledgement at the statement, but the alchemist whipped his head towards her immediately.

“A star?” he demanded. “It fell, just now? Did you see where? Was it nearby?”

Luna shook her head, quietly baffled.

“N-no, it, um, it looked like it landed very far away. You shouldn’t have to worry about witches disrupting your research—”

“Forget witches!” came the frantic response, and the alchemist stood so quickly his chair toppled to the floor. “ _I_ need that star, Luna. For her sake.”

There was only ever one ‘her’ on the alchemist’s mind. He didn’t need to specify.

“Did you, um, reach a breakthrough?” she asked him, concerned that he hadn’t mentioned it to her if he had.

“It’s the only thing left,” he explained, dragging his fingers through his gray hair in an agitated manner. “The only thing I haven’t tried. The heart of a star has enough power to turn back time and make an old person young again. It has to have enough power to bring her back to us.”

Luna then experienced a sensation she might have called ‘stomach-twisting’ if she’d had a stomach to feel it in. The alchemist was already rushing around the lab, digging haphazardly through drawers until he found what he was searching for.

“But… To get the heart of a star, you’d need to, to k-kill it,” Luna pointed out weakly. “Like the witches do.”

It had been the alchemist who taught her about ethics, morality, how sacred life was. There was a pause, and the alchemist’s shoulders drooped.

“I know,” he said quietly. “But… It’s not like the witches. They’re doing it for themselves, because they want to live longer. I’m doing it to save a life.”

“I… I just…”

But the alchemist finally closed his hand around what he’d been searching for and dropped it into Luna’s palm before she could come up with a more coherent argument. The item was unmistakably a Babylon candle – though at its size, ‘candle’ was perhaps generous. It was more of a waxy green-black nub.

“There’s enough left for one journey,” the alchemist said solemnly. “Enough to get you to the star, but not back to the manor. Find it, take it with you, and bring it home.” He took a shaky breath, and then said three binding words he’d never used in her whole existence: “That’s an order.”

There was no room for argument there, no leeway or wiggle room. And so, Luna lit the candle. Then she closed her eyes and thought hard about the star, about the way it flashed across the night sky, falling to earth wreathed in flame.

When she opened them again, she stood in the middle of an enormous, glassy crater, hand empty. She was much closer to the mountains, she noted, glancing up at the peaks towering over her.

And then she saw the star.

He stood before her in a glowing silver dress, belted at the waist with an embroidered sash that glittered as though studded with diamonds. Tousled golden hair spilled over his shoulders, and his eyes were sharp and luminous like chunks of tourmaline. Everything about him was vivid and fantastical.

But he didn’t shine.

Which made sense, Luna supposed – it would be difficult to be content and happy when you’ve just fallen from the sky into so much danger. Still, he appeared as elegant and regal as she’d always imagined a star would be.

Until he opened his mouth.

“Who the hell are you?”

Startled as she was by his crassness, it took a few moments to answer.

“I-I’m Luna,” she explained. “I, um, I was s-sent here to get you. What’s your name?”

He scoffed, turning his face to the side.

“Dio.”

It was a very nice name, Luna thought, and then wondered if it was a characteristic name for a star or not. But she shook off the thought promptly – she’d been given an order and she had to complete it. Besides, she attempted to reason to keep the twisting feeling out of her belly, it was something the alchemist wanted. Her only family in the world. He had to know better than her, didn’t he?

“W-well, we should get going, Dio,” Luna began, a bit awkwardly, gesturing behind herself and back in the direction of the manor.

“Going?”

Dio crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet more firmly.

“Yes, I—”

“There’s no way you could make me go anywhere with you,” he interrupted snidely.

Luna blinked.

“I’m much stronger than I look,” she told him, but he only rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, right.”

* * *

Minutes later, they were marching steadily away from the crater, Luna’s left hand locked around Dio’s right wrist. The star tried vainly to tug his arm from her grip, but didn’t go so far as to hit or attack her. Not that it would have really mattered if he had; Luna was quite sturdy. Eventually, though, Dio gave up his struggling and grumbled instead.

“Where are you taking me anyway?” he demanded at last.

“Back to my home,” explained Luna, and didn’t slow her pace. “To the, the alchemist who created me. He sent me to bring you back. Based on, um, the position of the, of the stars—” And oh, was that an awkward thing to say with him right next to her!— “It’s about a, um... A nine days’ journey, I think.”

Dio stopped walking, and stumbled forward a step or two in Luna’s uncompromising grasp before she realized he’d halted.

“You’re an automaton?”

She glanced back at him, and felt her face blanch hot and pale with the white artificial blood which ran through her veins. No one had ever said it so plainly before — not the alchemist and certainly not any of his rare guests.

“I-I, um... Yes,” Luna admitted, straightening up as best she could, though it still left her only about eye-level with the star’s chin. “Yes, I am.”

“Huh.” There was no response about the revelation other than that, except the interested look in Dio’s eyes. “So… You’re taking me to an alchemist, not a witch.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“But he’s probably gonna kill me for my heart too.”

Luna flinched. A wry smirk overtook Dio’s face, and he shook his head.

“Whatever. Lead on, I guess.”

It was a worryingly nonchalant attitude. Luna wasn’t sure if he didn’t believe her or if he was just confident he could find a chance to escape from her. And even with that slight, sarcastic bit of amusement on his face, he didn’t shine at all.

* * *

The sun was just creeping into the sky when Dio’s stomach rumbled. By that point, he had agreed to walk along with Luna and didn’t have to be dragged by the hand. His sense of direction was ‘fucked up completely’ by the change in perspective, he’d explained, and he’d hardly know where he was going anyway, she’d clearly have the advantage. Which was true, so Luna agreed, even if she thought he probably had an ulterior motive for it.

Of course, it also meant she wasn’t right next to him when he picked a round, purple fruit with blue spots from a nearby tree. She only caught sight of it when he lifted it to his mouth for a bite, and she ended up shouting.

“N-no, not those ones!”

He froze, the spotted fruit still in his hand.

“... Why?”

“S-sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just... The ones with blue spots are poisonous,” Luna explained, moving closer to take it from his grasp and drop it onto the ground. “Y-you need to look for fruits with red spots instead.”

She pointed to another tree, which had the safe fruit, and helped him gather a few to eat as they walked. Then, worried Dio would get himself almost poisoned again if she didn’t stick close, Luna laced their fingers together.

* * *

They continued on for a few more hours before Dio’s pace slowed considerably.

“Aren’t we going to rest and sleep?” he complained.

Luna’s brow furrowed.

“But… I don’t require sleep,” she said.

“Yeah, well I do!” snapped Dio, who then had to stifle a yawn with his free hand.

Luna blinked. She hadn’t considered that, but... Stars did rest during the day, didn’t they? She nodded.

“Th-then, I can carry you while you sleep—”

“No fucking way!”

“I-I’m sorry...” she apologized, not sure why he was so against the idea. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just the, um, the most efficient way...”

“Who cares about that? It’s embarrassing is what it is, it’d look ridiculous. I’ll just sleep here.”

Luna followed Dio’s gesture to a slightly more open space between the trees, not quite large enough to be called a clearing. There weren’t any rocks in it or anything but...

“I-it doesn’t look very comfortable,” Luna pointed out.

“I don’t give a shit, I’m not moving another step.”

The tone was belligerent and full of energy, but Dio really did look quite tired. So she glanced around, trying to find the most comfortable-looking spot, and settled down with her legs outstretched.

“Y-you, um, you can rest your head in my lap. I’ll watch over you,” she promised, patting her skirt-clad thigh.

He stared at her for a few seconds, saying nothing, and his ears turned a little pink.

“Of course you will,” he muttered finally. “What’d you do if I died or something, your little mission would fucking implode.”

Then Dio settled down on his side in the grass and laid his head in Luna’s lap, posture stiff. He was feeling awkward, she deduced. Laying one's head in another’s lap was considered rather intimate, she supposed. But it was still clearly the best option, with the ground so rough and hard — he’d never get any sleep if he tried to just lie with his head on the forest floor. Slowly but surely as Dio began to fall asleep, the tension eased out of his frame. After almost thirty minutes, he was completely unconscious.

Asleep, he finally looked peaceful for the very first time. He still didn’t shine — though Luna didn’t know if stars could shine in their sleep. Perhaps they didn’t, if they slept during the day, because she’d never seen one shining then. Luna let the idea idle around in her mind a little longer, then went back to studying her... Captive?

Even without shining, he was beautiful. Luna wasn’t often overcome with feeling when she wasn’t reading a novel, but the urge to see if Dio’s hair was as soft as it looked was startlingly strong. She resisted quietly for three minutes, four. And then she thought, just one touch would sate her curiosity, wouldn’t it? So she traced a single index finger across the strands. They were as soft as they looked. Perhaps softer. So Luna chanced combing a whole hand through. A quiet sigh flitted past Dio’s lips, so she did it again. Before she’d quite realized it, Luna was wholesale playing with the sleeping star’s hair.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. The morning air was fresh and warm and clean, with a hint of pine and grass. But below it, she could smell Dio too — a bright tang of magic, something metallic, and a pleasant whiff of heat like the scent the air took on in a room with a stove just beginning to warm. Altogether, the medley of fragrances was pleasant, and Luna let her mind ramble idly as she wove plaits into Dio’s cornsilk hair and listened to his even breathing.

* * *

For three days, they continued in relatively the same pattern, walking at night and resting during the day. More than once, Luna had to steer Dio away from inedible plants, and he would defensively remind her that it was hard to see little details like that from all the way up in the sky, and anyway it was dark. Still, his attitude subtly improved as the days passed, and he seemed more open and curious about the world.

Even then, he didn’t shine.

Luna was reminded of something she’d read about stars – that they were incapable of shining when they had a broken heart. Was Dio’s heart broken, she wondered. Perhaps by the separation from his family in the sky, the other stars? Or was it something else entirely? She’d at least figured him out enough by that point to know not to ask, but she did wonder.

With nearly a third of their journey under their belts without issue, Luna made the mistake of thinking it might be smooth sailing – that they’d make it to the manor without encountering a witch. She was wrong, of course.

They were cornered on the morning after the fourth night, right when Dio was looking around again for a good place to sleep. Luna had been too busy trying to help, and hadn’t been paying enough attention to their surroundings. The witch nearly snuck up on them, except that she stepped on a dry twig.

Luna took up a place in front of Dio immediately, to protect him. Not a forest witch, she surmised, by appearance; too damp and gray and ragged. A swamp witch, maybe. There were distinctions, but the part of her machinery that held such classifications had been muddled by fear and couldn’t make the proper connections.

“Come now, little girl,” the witch said, a rude smile on her face and an obsidian knife in her hand. “Give me the star.”

Luna couldn’t speak. Her voice box was malfunctioning. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was malfunctioning anyway. She shook her head frantically and spread her arms, though realistically it would do little to cover Dio better. The witch laughed.

But then… A rush of warmth, energy, spread through her body, and a translucent shield appeared suddenly between them and the witch. Luna didn’t know how long it would hold, but it would at least be long enough for one of them to get away.

“R-run!” Luna managed to force past her lips.

She didn’t dare look behind her, but she heard the sound of feet slapping against the ground.

“You little…!” the witch snarled, flinging out her empty hand and summoning a burst of fire that bounced off the shield. “You cost me my star!”

It took only a few more blows to shatter the shield completely.

Luna was half made of magic, which explained the spell she’d performed not a minute earlier. It had always been a loose possibility in the back of Luna's mind, but not one pressing enough to explore. She’d never harnessed it, purposely or otherwise, but she tried in that moment, wishing hard for another shield to protect herself. Despite her determination, there was no warm rush of energy in response. When the witch took another menacing step forward, Luna stumbled backwards and tripped over a root, landing hard on her backside – the witch, eyes wild and glowing green with rage, loomed above her, knife held high.

Then there was a loud crack and the witch collapsed to the ground. Dio stood over her with a massive branch in his hands.

“D-Dio…”

“You ok?” he asked, helping Luna to her feet.

“Y-yes, I’m fine, I… Why did you…”

Even she wasn’t sure what she wanted to ask, but Dio gave her an answer anyway.

“Think I was gonna let myself be kidnapped by that?” he asked, nudging the witch with his boot. “No fucking way. She’d eat my heart! You don’t even have to eat, and anyway you don’t have the temperament for it. Seriously, even if you tried you’d wimp out immediately and start fucking apologizing.”

“Y-you... You could have just run off,” Luna pointed out quietly. “And not come back.”

Dio froze. His fingers tightened minutely around the branch still held in his hands like a club.

“I... I don’t know where the hell I am,” he insisted at last, brusquely. “What kinda idiot goes running off into the fucking wilderness? If I’m going to ditch you it’s at least gonna be in a village.”

* * *

“I tell you I’m gonna run off in a village and you immediately take us to a village,” Dio said the next evening, crossing his arms over his chest. “You trying to get rid of me or something?”

“No, just… We... We need to get you some less conspicuous clothes,” Luna said firmly. “That way, um, it won’t be so obvious to witches that you’re a star.”

“And what are you gonna buy them with?” asked Dio, clearly skeptical. “I might not know a lot about life down here but I know things cost money.”

Luna smiled.

“Cost, yes... But, um... Money, not always,” she told him.

She’d gone down to the market closest to the alchemist’s manor once or twice in her life, and its vendors often asked for strange things in exchange for their wares. Such was the case in any village in Stormhold that made use of magic. Of course she’d have to be careful of traveling witches, but... It would be best in the long run to get Dio something that didn’t glitter so much — they still had a long ways to go to get back to the manor, and being inconspicuous was key. Only stars wore silver dresses.

Thankfully, though she’d never been to the village of Serezo, Luna knew that one of the alchemist’s frequent visitors lived there. Carlos was a water mage who was often sent to quell raging fires when they engulfed the nearby forests and threatened the village’s crops. He also, she remembered from their rare conversations, ran the local bakery with his sister. So Luna led the way along the outskirts of the village, keeping out of sight and following the scent of baking bread.

When she knocked on the back door, it was Carlos who answered. He seemed startled to see her, almost more than to see her in the company of a star. After taking in their slightly ragged appearances, he opened the door wider.

“Why don’t you both come in?”

Dio glanced at Luna, suspicious, but she put on her most encouraging smile and nodded.

“Dio, this, um, this is Carlos, he’s… A friend.”

Gratifyingly, Dio took her at her word, and followed her inside the bakery.

“Maria, can you watch the loaves?” Carlos called into the next room. “I need a few minutes!”

There was an affirmative reply, and so Carlos ushered them out of the bakery proper and into a cozy living area attached to the shop. He proceeded to listen calmly and without judgment to their tale so far, although his expression did pinch a little when Luna explained the alchemist’s orders.

“I, um, I thought you could maybe take something of mine and barter for clothes,” she finished awkwardly. “So Dio won’t be as obvious to witches.”

Carlos set a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need for that. He can borrow something of mine.”

“O-oh, I couldn’t ask you to—”

“Nonsense,” Carlos said. “We’re about the same build and height, and it’s to keep you both safe. Is that alright with you, Dio?”

The star, not prepared to be addressed after standing quietly behind Luna for so long, started.

“Yeah, that’s fine, I guess,” he said, shrugging and fidgeting with the sash around his waist. “Doesn’t make any difference to me.”

“I’ll be right back, then,” Carlos said, smiling.

He returned promptly with a loose, fern green shirt, a pair of brown trousers, a small strip of leather, and a rucksack.

“What’s this for?” Dio asked, picking the leather up off the pile.

“Thought you might want to tie your hair back,” explained Carlos. “You can put your star clothing in the rucksack, and I’ll give you a loaf of bread before you head on your way. Wouldn’t want you to leave hungry – this is a bakery, after all!”

Dio just stared, uncomprehending, as though the idea of Carlos’s kindness was completely beyond the realm of possibility. He was being very generous, Luna knew, but she wondered if Dio’s life had really been so empty of generosity that he had no frame of reference for it.

“Th-thank you, Carlos,” she said in his stead. “We really appreciate it. I’ll, um, come with you so Dio can get changed.”

She followed Carlos back to the bakery, and was introduced to Maria, his sister. Then, after several minutes, Dio emerged dressed in his new clothing. The colors suited him, Luna thought – brought out the green in his eyes. He’d also drawn his golden hair over one shoulder and tied the leather strip around it to gather it together loosely. His star clothes glimmered in his arms, and the sight of him looking so different was novel enough that Luna could only drink him in for several long moments.

“What’s that look for?” Dio asked at last, ears pink.

“B-because you look very pretty,” she explained simply.

Dio’s face bloomed from pink to red in an instant, and he covered it with a hand.

“Who the fuck just says shit like that outta nowhere,” he muttered. “Jeez.”

The words and the tone sounded angry, but Luna was fairly certain they didn’t actually mean that Dio _was_ angry. His feelings had seemed irrational and incomprehensible at first, especially compared to the alchemist’s more even, easily-followable keel. But after observing Dio for several days, Luna could see that he often hid other feelings behind false shows of anger. It was difficult to gauge, but Luna had a pretty good idea this time.

Because Dio had begun to shine. It was a subtle glow, shimmering off his skin and hair, but Luna saw it, and a strange staticky feeling filled her chest.

* * *

Only when they were back in the forest did the thought come to her — Dio hadn’t attempted to escape while they were at Serezo.

That moment marked something of a turning point between them. They continued their journey at the same pace, but it felt different somehow. More open, or friendly. Luna began to fill what had been days of relative silence with speech. She talked more about the alchemist and his research, about her garden and the things she’d read. There weren’t really any other topics to draw on — her experiences were limited. But Dio actually urged her on a little, subtly, enough that she nearly didn’t notice it.

He mentioned too the things that were different about looking at life from the ground rather than the sky, although he very obviously avoided talk of his family. In the dawn hours just before settling into sleep, he sharpened a stone he’d picked up – in case they ran into another witch – and hummed unfamiliar tunes, star songs. More than all that, he began to shine. Not brightly, or regularly, but if Luna showed him something that made a slight smile cross his face, there began also to be a soft silver glow off his hair. Every sight of it produced the same warm, buzzing static feeling in Luna’s metal heart.

Neither one of them spoke about their destination, and as the nights passed it faded in Luna’s mind. As though they would never reach their journey’s end, as if they’d just keep traveling together forever.

Then, of course, the bluebird came.

Like Luna, it was a creature made with the alchemist’s magic, and it was larger than any normal bluebird would be. Tied to one of its legs was an envelope, and it hopped down onto a branch and trilled, sticking out its leg for Luna. She opened the envelope, and found inside it a piece of rolled up paper and a stick of charcoal. She unfurled the letter first and read it.

The missive was a straightforward one. The alchemist simply wanted to know if Luna was safe, if she had the star in her possession, and how far she estimated she was from the manor. It sent the truth crashing back down onto Luna’s shoulders. The alchemist didn’t want to speak to Dio, he wanted him as an ingredient in his research.

Luna felt a silken brush of hair as Dio leaned over her shoulder to get a look at the letter. He came to nearly the same conclusion.

“Kinda forgot you were taking me to get killed,” he mused, but when Luna glanced up at him he wasn’t looking at her or the letter – he was staring at the bird.

“I-I... Dio I’m so sorry,” Luna stammered. “I... I don’t, I can’t... He ordered me…”

“You’ve got a job to do, don’t you?” he asked, and his expression was flat — gave nothing away. “He’s your family. Your superior.”

“Dio... I, I don’t...”

He shrugged.

“At least it’s for a good cause, right? You told me about how he’s trying to bring his wife back. That’s not such a horrible thing to die for. Fuck if I’ve done anything useful with my life so far.”

“No!”

The shout came out much louder than Luna intended, and she clapped her hands over her mouth at the volume, dropping the alchemist’s letter. Dio’s blue-green eyes went wide. Startled. There was a glimmer of starlight off his hair, the wary beginning of a shine. The sight gave Luna the courage she needed to drop her hands away from her lips and continue.

“It’s... It’s like you said. He is my family. He’s... And I, I don’t know exactly what he wants to do with you, with your heart,” she admitted, “but I do know it’s not something good. And I can’t... I just can’t take you back there. It’s not right. I won’t do it. I’ll find a way around the order, I will.”

“And what else do you think you’re going to do?” he asked, wry and with a weary look in his eyes. “You can’t disobey him.”

Determined, Luna took his hand in both of her own.

“I don’t know...! I... A loophole. L-let me find you a Babylon candle and get you back to the sky,” she pleaded, squeezing Dio’s hand.

“What’s the point of going back,” he muttered, looking stubbornly away from her and pulling out of her grip. “The sky isn’t any better than down here.”

Luna frowned.

“But it’s your home, it would fit the, the wording of the order—”

“Some home. There’s nothing waiting for me there.”

The place in Luna’s chest where her metal heart lived ached. She wrung her hands, unable to properly express her agitation any other way.

“B-but...”

“It wasn’t an accident that I fell.” Dio paused, lips still slightly parted, as though startled he’d admitted it aloud. “I mean... Oh, fuck it— They kicked me out. The other stars in my constellation. My family. My superior. I didn’t do what they wanted me to, so they didn’t want me anymore. And that means it’s not my home anymore. It won’t work as a loophole. But... I get it, ok? If you don’t do what they want, people turn on you, and that’s fine if it’s someone you barely know, but. Fuck. Your family? Sometimes you, you know, want more than that. _You_ don’t even get a choice, though, so whatever… Whatever happens, I won’t blame you.”

Only then did Luna realize that the reason Dio was getting so fuzzy was because her eyes were filling with tears.

“Dio, I’m so—”

“Whatever happens,” he cut over her to repeat, with a very brave look on his face, “it’s better than getting my heart eaten by a fucking witch. I don’t care if I die, but fuck if I’m going out like that.”

 _I don’t want you to die_ , she thought desperately but couldn’t seem to say. _That would be horrible. You’re a good person and you saved me; you don’t deserve to die. This is all wrong._

“Where... Wh-where would you go, then?” she asked him instead. “If you could live, if you could go anywhere? Surely you’ve seen something... From, from up in the sky, I mean. Someplace that looked happy. Someplace that could be home.”

Dio sighed, and one hand came up to absently play with his hair.

“There was a town,” he said, voice going soft. “Must be further south of here, it’s down in the middle of the valley. It’s all… Quiet, and shit, but not bad. The people there seem happy. They bicker sometimes, but they garden and do magic and raise their families and watch fireflies on the hill on summer nights. They’ve got a, uh, Star Festival I used to watch every year.”

“Oh,” Luna murmured.

It _was_ more than the ethics.

She didn’t, she realized suddenly, _want_ to take Dio to the alchemist. And she didn’t _want_ to send him back to the sky either, even though he’d be safer there. She wanted him to stay with her. She wanted to go with him to the little town in the valley and live in a small, cozy house and grow a new garden and watch the fireflies on the hilltop in summer evenings.

She wanted it more than anything in the world.

“I love you,” she said wonderingly.

Dio choked on his inhale and spent the next several seconds coughing.

“You what?” he wheezed at last.

“I-I just realized. I love you.”

Dio groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“How can you just say shit like that!” he demanded, voice muffled by his palms.

“But… It’s true,” said Luna, confused.

“Yeah, but you don’t just _say_ it like… Ugh.”

“Do, um,” she began hesitantly, “do you also…?”

“Yes, I—” he began, irritated, but faltered; the blush on his face deepened. “The, the feeling’s mutual.”

The staticky feeling was back, and it spread all the way to Luna’s fingers and toes. She smiled, because even though she didn’t know what to do next, even though a solution seemed impossible, Dio cared about her too. And that was all she needed to keep her hope up.

Luna took a deep breath, nodded, and thought. The alchemist had created her. She didn’t hate him. But she couldn’t go back, not if it meant hurting Dio, killing Dio. And yet, her orders – the ones she couldn’t disobey because even if she was half magic, she was also still half machine – were ironclad.

‘Find it, take it with you, and bring it home.’

She could have justified sending Dio back to the sky, his home, except he’d disavowed it. Luna stroked the bluebird’s little head, troubled. There was no way out. Because the only other home was her own home, which was...

Which was...

The realization hit her, and her eyes went wide. She picked up the letter from the alchemist and began writing a response on the back with the little stub of charcoal in the envelope. Once done, she rolled the letter back up and turned to Dio.

“Can… Can I, um, have some of your hair?” she asked him.

He blinked, uncomprehending.

“My… Hair?”

“Just, um, a little bit?”

“I guess…”

He pulled the sharpened stone from his pocket and sliced off a lock of hair, handing it to Luna. She slipped it and her letter into the tiny envelope and waved the bluebird off — back to the alchemist’s manor, but not back _home_. She hoped that little piece of star would help the alchemist’s research. But she would never return.

“South of here, right?” she asked, turning to Dio with a smile.

He stared back at her, brows furrowed and teal eyes squinted.

“But… Your orders,” he said.

“There was a loophole after all,” explained Luna, feeling buoyant and free. “He told me to bring you _home_. But home doesn’t have to be the manor. It could mean anywhere or anyone I decide; I-I want to make a choice of my own. And... I’m choosing you.”

“You mean it?” he asked, voice hesitant.

“I really, really do. Let’s… Let’s go home, Dio.”

At the sound of those words, Dio shone. So bright that Luna felt like it should hurt her eyes, but it didn’t. The dew on the grass glowed silver under his light. Though his features were as sharp as they’d been from the beginning, the look in his eyes was molten. He held out a shimmering hand.

She took it.


End file.
